NASA Announces Three New Robotic Moon Missions

NASA has announced three new robotic missions to help build a future base on the moon. Three American companies have received contracts to carry cargo and scientific equipment to the lunar surface. The space agency will pay almost 600 million dollars for these three newly planned robotic projects. These efforts will help build infrastructure that future astronauts can use during their lunar missions. These new agreements will add to other moon contracts that NASA announced earlier in May.

However, the American space program has recently experienced a major problem with its launch plans. A rocket called New Glenn, which a company named Blue Origin built, exploded this spring. The company that built the rocket, Blue Origin, belongs to the technology billionaire Jeff Bezos. This explosion might cause some delays, but NASA is still confident about its overall schedule. Carlos Garcia-Galan, an agency manager, explained that they are also "looking at other options" now.

In March, NASA changed its main strategy to focus on a base on the surface. Previously, the space agency planned to build an orbital space station that they called Gateway. NASA has promised 20 billion dollars to construct this new base near the south pole. Scientists want to build the base there because they can find water ice in the soil. If the project succeeds, workers will start building the lunar base in the year 2029.

This American plan competes directly with China, which also wants to build a lunar base. NASA wants to use landers, robotic vehicles, and special drones to inspect the local terrain. The finished base will include a local electricity grid and sealed structures for human living. In addition, the agency might adapt an old Mars rover to speed up their work.